Democrats sizzle at party convention

Like the coming heat wave, state Democratic leaders, candidates and their supporters gathered in Lowell for the party's annual convention yesterday, brimming with confidence after recent victories and promising grass-roots campaigns for the governor’s office and 5th District focusing on health care, economic justice and education.

By Chris Bergeron/Daily News staff

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

By Chris Bergeron/Daily News staff

Posted Jul. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 14, 2013 at 2:04 PM

By Chris Bergeron/Daily News staff

Posted Jul. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 14, 2013 at 2:04 PM

LOWELL

» Social News

Like the coming heat wave, state Democratic leaders, candidates and their supporters gathered in Lowell for the party's annual convention yesterday, brimming with confidence after recent victories and promising grass-roots campaigns for the governor’s office and 5th District focusing on health care, economic justice and education.

Soon-to-be former U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, who’ll be sworn in Tuesday as U.S. senator, predicted, "The Democratic Party will record clean sweeps across the state’’ in the coming race for governor and his former Congressional seat to explosive applause.

"The Celtics might be rebuilding but the Massachusetts Democrats are always champions of democracy,’’ said Markey, whose 5th District seat has attracted five candidates thus far.

In a brief but impassioned address, one of those candidates, state Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, promised members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association she’d "fight for better funding for kids and teachers’’ if elected to the seat Markey vacated after winning a special election for now-Secretary of State John Kerry’s Senate seat.

In a tent outside the Tsongas Center occupied by about 80 MTA members, she introduced her son Scott, who teaches in New York City, and, citing her prior experience on the Ashland School Committee, said supporting teachers and students would be "a springboard’’ of her campaign.

Spilka noted the recent appearance at the United Nations of Malala Yousufzai, a teenager from Pakistan who was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating education for girls. "Right here in Massachusetts, education can make a world of difference for our children. I look forward to continuing to partner with you,’’ she said.

Other candidates for the 5th District seat include Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, state Sen. Will Brownsberger of Belmont, state Rep. Carl Sciortino of Medford and state Sen. Katherine Clark of Melrose.

The four declared candidates for governor arrived, often trailed by supporters in colored shirts, staking claims based on leadership, prior job creation and vision.

Treasurer Steven Grossman reaffirmed his gubernatorial ambitions and promised to make paid family leave a legislative priority if it has not become law by January 2015.

He said a million Bay State residents don’t presently have "a single day of sick time’’ and must work when ill or send sick children to school because they can’t stay home with them.

"It is a cause whose time has come. It is an economic and moral responsibility,’’ Grossman told several thousand audience members at the 2013 Democratic Convention at the Tsongas Center at UMass. "… If I have the privilege to be sworn in, I will make family leave the first bill I sign.’’

The three other candidates, Joe Avellone, Donald Berwick and Dan Wolf, delivered brief but passionate addresses after the convention approved the party platform.

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While meeting delegates on the convention floor, Koutoujian described himself as "a kid from Waltham who learned about public service from my parents’’ and who "grew up in and lived in the district my entire life.’’

A former Middlesex County assistant district attorney, he served 14 years as a state representative until he was appointed sheriff in 2011.

There was an undercurrent of speculation about other potential candidates for governor.

Before addressing the convention, Attorney General Martha Coakley said she "was thinking about (running) but haven’t made a decision.’’

However, state Rep. Gloria Fox, D-Roxbury, predicted Coakley would run and others pointed to the legions of banner-carrying supporters lining the sidewalk leading to the center.

Secretary of State William Galvin said he had "no plans’’ for a gubernatorial run and "was too busy running special elections.’’

While there was very little talk from the platform of potential Republican candidates of governor, U.S. Rep. James McGovern dismissed former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown as "yesterday’s news.’’

Before the convention began at 10 a.m., volunteers at tables passed out brochures for dozens of organizations including Planned Parenthood, Massachusetts Voters For Animals and Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts.

In a spirited address, Gov. Deval Patrick echoed earlier speakers’ assurances that Democrats’ superior grass-roots organizations reflected "the will of the people’’ and would triumph in coming elections over Republicans’ reliance on special interests like the National Rifle Association.

The only speaker to the cite the Boston Marathon bombing, the governor said, "It brought out the best in our community and might have been our finest hour.’’

"We showed the world what it means to say, ‘Yes, we can.’ ‘’

Speaking after the convention passed the party platform with some amendments, Avellone, Berwick and Wolf described their backgrounds and qualifications with considerable energy.

A former administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Berwick described himself as "an improver’’ with a "track record of progress’’ who has "worked 30 years to make health care everything it could be.’’

The co-founder of Cape Air and a state senator from Harwich, Wolf said he’d built his company from six to 1,000 employees in 25 years and promised to fight tuition increases at state colleges, to raise the minimum wage and work for "economic and social justice.’’

Avellone, a biopharmaceutical executive and chief operating officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts, said, "You can’t create new jobs with old ideas.’’ He pledged to "create new jobs from new industries’’ and change the way health care works in Massachusetts.’’